You've Got Mail! (EOTO 1)

 Introduction

    "You've Got Mail." That is what AOL users used to hear when they received an email. Nowadays, you might get a notification on your mobile phone or have to just check your email manually. This shows just one of the many changes in email over the last 50 years of its existence. With these changes come many benefits and increased connectivity, but there can be also detrimental side effects.

The History

    Email or electronic mail has become a regular and constant tool for our daily lives as a way to connect with friends, family, and colleagues. The first version of email was used in 1965 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where they were testing one of their systems that allowed users to share information through one system and the use of multiple terminals. In 1969, for the first time multiple computers were interconnected, and so the Advanced Research Project Agency Network (ARPANET) was started as the first real email system and it was overseen by the U.S. Defense Department. In 1971, Ray Tomlinson who worked at MIT started the use of the "@" symbol which separated the username and machine. In 1976, Queen Elizabeth II became the first monarch and head of state to send an email. In 1989, Lotus Notes (later IBM notes) was launched which allowed more widespread use of email as now everyone could have a free personalized email. Before, it was mostly used by students and employees. Beginning in 1992, you were able to now add attachments that were not text to emails. Also, in 1992, another large email company went public: AOL. In 1996, Microsoft released the first version of Outlook which was called Internet Mail and News 1.0 which continued to increase the use and availability of email. In 1996 and 1997 respectively, Hotmail and Yahoo Mail launch which continues to increase the popularity of email. In 2002, the Blackberry cellphone was released which for the first time enabled emails to be sent from mobile cellphones. In 2004, Gmail was launched by Google which continued to spread the use of email and is now one of the most popular email companies. The last major development for email was in 2007 when Apple came out with the iPhone which supplied more of an ability by the ordinary consumer to have access to mobile email.

Email is Great for Connectivity

    Prior to email, it was difficult to send a message to a large group of people and to send a message to someone a long distance away. With the addition of email, those people could almost instantaneously receive and communicate with each other. Email makes it easier to communicate in a flexible and asynchronous way which can help increase production in the workplace and improve communication for people across different places and times. In addition to messaging, email has helped people to connect through other ways such as Onedrive and other cloud based services where the same project can be worked on at the same time by multiple people in different locations. 

Email has no Flaws, right? Not so fast...  

    While email can have benefits, there can be detrimental side effects. Email can lead to a decrease in human communication, especially in the workplace. This lack of in person human communication can lead to quicker conflict escalation and issues between people. Also, in emails it is hard to convey emotion which can lead people to misinterpret the sender and cause the receiver to have the wrong behavioral response. Another issue with email is spam email, otherwise known as unsolicited bulk email, where people receive an email message that is sent to many random people and those people did not sign up for it. This fills up the inbox and space of people's emails and computers which can be frustrating and make it difficult to communicate. Lastly, as with everything online you can have personal information stolen by hackers. This can be avoided, but sometimes if a person accidentally clicks on the wrong thing or if there is a security breach of a company with your password information, then you could possibly have your email hacked and personal information stolen.

Conclusion

    In the current age, email has become one of the most prominent tools of communication in the professional and personal environment. This has allowed us to continue to move forward as a society by increasing production and staying connected with family and friends. While there are benefits, we must be mindful to weigh the negative aspects as what we write can be easily misinterpreted and can affect our psyche as human beings. In conclusion, the invention of the email has drastically improved our way of communication when used properly and can continue to drive society forward in many capacities.